Challenged
by Silent Song of Stirring Storms
Summary: Promises broken. Joy short lived. What could have been. Battles lost. Wars won. Watch these cats as they face life with everything they've got- but sometimes not even that is enough. Challenges from forums I'm on. Reviews are appreciated!
1. Friends Forever?

_ She promised, didn't she? She promised we would be friends forever, always helping each other, always there for one another._

_ But she broke her promise. My only friend broke her promise, and with it, she broke my heart. I loved her so dearly. She was the only thing I had. And she left me. I'm alone. Utterly alone._

_I __was__ Fadedheart __of RiverClan, the Clan that craves all things __beautiful.__ According to my parents, I wasn't supposed to be born. Huh. And the other kits were._

_ I'll not waste your time with my full backstory, just a summary, but if you're here than you're obviously interested in what happens to me. _

_ Or more likely the other cats- the ones with tragic, heart-breaking tales of lost loved ones._

_ At least they had loved ones._

_ My mother loved me, but she didn't want to. She didn't want me. My father, on the other paw, blatantly hated me. From the first time he saw me, he hated me. Maybe it was because of my odd, dull gray eyes. Maybe it was because I was one solid color all over- gray. Ugly, dull, gray. _

_ Or maybe it was because I was the only one out of my litter to survive the first leaf-bare. Me, of course. It had to be me- the ugly duckling._

_ The others were pretty- beautiful, even. Classically named, Goldkit was a golden tabby she-cat with amber eyes, Dawnkit had green eyes with a cream underbelly and a faded red-pink back, while Streamkit was a silvery-blue with black tabby stripes and gorgeous deep blue eyes._

_ Then there was me. Fadedkit. Not black nor white, but gray all over. _

_ Ahem, just like my father._

_ The hypocrite._

_ But, as I said before, this is not about my backstory- it is about our story. About me and _her_._

_ I grew, along with my the Clan's hatred, disdain, and/or pity, to hate them. I learned to cut myself off from the world. Ignore the taunts, the jeers, for something I couldn't help. I knew very well I couldn't help it, and at first blamed my parents. _

_ That got me nowhere, so I decided to blame StarClan._

_ I still do, but there was a time when I almost didn't._

She_ ruined that slim chance._

* * *

_"__Fadedpaw?" She asked, in that concerned way she always __talked__ to me. "Are you okay?"_

No,_ I want to say. _I'm not okay. I'm never okay. How can I be when everyone treats me like I'm a worthless piece of prey to be tossed about?

_But how could I say that? She's the only one who cares about me. My only friend._

_ "I'm fine," I hear myself mew. _

I'm not, _I hear myself think._

_ "Silverpaw?" I ask._

_ "Yes?" She replies, waiting._

_ "We'll be friends forever, right?"_

_ "Of course!" She responds warmly._

_ "Promise?" I had to be sure._

_ "Promise." She responds, yawning._

_ We fall asleep easily in the apprentices den, before the other apprentices can taunt me, and I'm conforted. At least I knew I would always have one friend, if nothing else._

_ Seasons later, we were Silverstream and Fadedheart. She broke her promise. She left me- left me for the big gray ThunderClan tabby. I didn't really care, then- we were still best friends- but she started getting obsessed with him. One night, after a visit with him, she told me she had great news- she was expecting kits!_

_ I was so happy for her, but I was also jealous. Why had _she_ found a mate so easily? Why should _she_ get a happy life when I shouldn't?_

_ The answer was obvious. In RiverClan, it wasn't brawn over brain- it was beauty over brain._

_ Soon after she fou__n__d she was expecting kits, she abandoned me. I thought we were still friends, __but she asked me to leave her alone. _

_ My hurt soon turned to anger, and in turn turned to a lust for revenge._

_ I watched the medicine cat for a while and learned something vital._

_ I snuck into the herb store and stole a plant- and dusted though it was, it smelled like frost._

_ I gave it to her, because apparently "I had a headache, so I went to the medicine den and was requested to bring this herb to you. It's supposed to help your milk come or something."_

_ Later that day, she went to visit her mate across the river._

_ She never came back, but her kits did, and her mate. _

_ That backfired._

_ He eventually got over her, and found a new mate. Had more kits. _

_ I watched as his first daughter saved a faraway group of cats- unlike most dead cats could, because when no one noticed you in life, they don't notice you in death either. And that makes it so much easier to sneak away._

_ I wished so much I had not killed her, but her kits instead._

_ When I __died, I changed my name._

_ You wouldn't know me, though, because I soon lived up to my namesake._

_ I am forsaken._

_ I am forgotten._

_ I am faded._


	2. Surrender

_**Surrender- **_**FrozenClan****Challenge**

Some cats don't know when to stop fighting, and simply retreat. Cats hungry for power, who crave bloodshed.

Cats like Tigerstar- though he was Tigerclaw when I was alive.

Before he killed me.

I am Redtail, the first victim of Tigerclaw. Bluestar's noble deputy, someday to be leader.

As you know, that was not the case.

I knew Lionheart would make a fantastic deputy for ThunderClan, and while I honestly had my doubts about Fireheart, I grew to admire him with a passion- daring, loyal, caring- the model warrior, deputy, and leader.

Let me take you back, and show you why sometimes we need to surrender- to live to fight another day.

_I flicked my tail in a silent signal to attack. _

_ We leaped __out __at the RiverClan cats from behind __a boulder, and they reared up at us simultaneously. _

_ I charged into battle with my Clan, calculating my moves, slashing, biting, dodging._

_ I saw Tigerclaw order Mousefur to run when she was wounded, and then noticed him again taking on Oakheart._

_ Most of the warriors were already exhausted, but when a second patrol of RiverClan cats joined the battle, they were disheartened as well. _

_ Dismayed, I looked around at my Clanmates, who were bleeding and panting, every fiber in their body exhausted. Tigerclaw was still fighting, though, and fighting hard. I admired his strength and stamina._

_ But if the other warriors kept fighting, they would soon have no strength to fight with, and they would be cut down and left like trampled grass._

_ I yowled to him over the clamor of screeching and ripping fur, "Tigerclaw! This is useless! There are too many RiverClan warriors!"_

_ The look in his eyes was one of pure rage and hatred as he replied in a hiss, "No, Redtail. ThunderClan will never be beaten!" __Drops of blood welled on his muzzle and he flicked them off impatiently._

_ "ThunderClan will honor your courage, Tigerclaw, but we cannot afford to lose any more of our warriors. Bluestar would never expect her warriors to fight against these impossible odds. We will have another chance to avenge our defeat." I persuaded, meeting his unreadable amber-eyed glare and glaring back._

_ Once he looked away, I jumped on top of a boulder and cried, "Retreat, ThunderClan, retreat!"_

_ My pelt spiked and I resisted the urge to snarl as the RiverClan cats yowled their victory to the stars. _We live to fight another day,_ I vowed in my head._

_ I flicked my tail for the other cats to go ahead of me, and did not notice Tigerclaw in the shadows. No other cat did, either._

_I started on my way back to camp, when suddenly a weight barreled into my side. The breath was knocked out of me, and a cat pinned me down. I was too stunned to recognize the scent, and it was too dark to see who it was, so I assumed it was RiverClan, trying to take more than they could ever deserve._

_ I snarled. "Get off me, you mangy fish-eating RiverClan piece of-!"_

_ Suddenly, the moon came out form behind the cloud, and I stared, stunned, at the broad tabby face, amber eyes, and scarlet blood welling on the muzzle of the cat many thought to be the most loyal cat in ThunderClan._

_ "_Tigerclaw_?" I asked, my eyes wide. "What in StarClan's name are you doing?"_

_ His only reply was a purr as he reared his paw, spiked with the longest claws in the Clans. The last thing my eyes saw were the terrified eyes of a skinny black apprentice._

_ And I surrendered to the darkness crashing over me._


	3. What If?

_FrozenClan Challenge- What If?_

Hollyleaf whipped around. The Dark Forest cat she had just fought she had just sent howling into the bushes.

_ As long as I can fight, the Dark Forest will not win! _She thought, determined.

Without warning, a weight crashed into her.

She curled her lip at the stench, and instinctively flinched. She turned to find her half-brother, his tail lashing, fur spiked and splattered with blood.

_Oh, joy. _She thought with malicious sarcasm. _It's the other brother who should have never been born. It's too obvious that Crowfeather never loved Nightcloud- he never even liked her._

"How could you betray you own family?" She hissed.

"Easy." He replied in a growl, hate and malice gleaming in his eyes. "As far as I'm concerned, I have none. No overprotective mother, no father who ignores me...No half-siblings who should never have been born..."

Before Hollyleaf had a chance to come back with a stinging reply, he bowled her over, his claws gripping her shoulders as he tried to pummel her stomach. Hollyleaf easily swiped his back paws off and in turn pummeled his stomach.

Suddenly she heard a familiar cry.

_Ivypool!_

She turned her head for a split second to see Ivypool being mauled by Thistleclaw and Snowtuft. They had ganged up on the silvery tabby, enraged by her betrayal of the Dark Forest.

Another familiar cry, this time from Tigerheart. Hawkfrost had slashed his throat out, and now one of the cats Hollyleaf had once thought to be her kin was dead. Despite the recent hostility and awkwardness, Hollyleaf was regretful she hadn't been able to make amends.

Until she remembered she would have been able to if Hawkfrost hadn't killed him.

_No!_ she thought, enraged. _We have to win!_

Breezepelt watched her horrified gaze and smirked. "We'll have every last one of you pathetic Clan cats dead in no time."

_Never! _With a burst of fury and adrenaline, Hollyleaf lunged for her half-brother.

_If I can get rid of him, there might be time enough to save Ivypool. _

Prepared for her attack, Breezepelt simply scooted out of the way, and reached out to trip her as she flew by.

Hollyleaf landed heavily on the ground, the wind knocked out of her. Gasping, her vision went fuzzy. There was suddenly a pressure on her throat, and it was the best Hollyleaf could do not to choke.

She saw Hawkfrost standing over her, his mouth dripping with Tigerheart's blood.

Breezepelt smirked down at her, ready for the killing blow.

_I will _not_ let you win!_

A sudden fire of hate coursed through her blood.

_ Fight like rouges. _ Firestar's words rang in her mind. At first, Hollyleaf had thought he hadn't been serious. There couldn't really be a cat who would really fight so ruthlessly, could there? But she knew most cats didn't follow the warrior code like she did...

She swiped at Breezepelt's neck, her claws unsheathed to their full extent.

Despite him being full WindClan and Hollyleaf only half WindClan, Hollyleaf's blow was faster than his attempt to doge it.

She felt a savage satisfaction as her claws ripped through his soft, exposed flesh. His blood splattered her own neck fur, and his eyes were shocked, though they slowly dulled.

It took him a while to die, as his blood spilled out onto the dusty ground, where it was gulped up by parched sand- which was slowly turning to a slimy forest floor. It sounded like what Lionblaze had described the Dark Forest as- no stars, no moon- just endless forest, with the occasional river of slime.

Disgusted and terrified, she ripped her eyes away from Breezepelt's body and the blood pooling around it. Her eyes landed on Hawkfrost.

Undisguised rage shown plainly on her face, setting her pretty green eyes into a raging, blazing, hot green fire.

She spat at Hawkfrost. "Call yourself a cat? You miserable, fox-hearted, sick, twisted-"

Hawkfrost cut her off with a bored yawn. He eyed her lazily. "What else is new?"

He leaped at her with no warning and bowled her over, pummeling at her stomach. Suddenly his bulky weight came off of her, and for a split second Hollyleaf thought someone had come to help her. Using the split second to her advantage, she threw herself up with a roar of fury, her black pelt spiking to make her look as big as Hawkfrost himself.

He didn't flinch, and his pelt stayed smooth.

"You put up quite a fight, Hollyleaf." He mewed smoothly. "It's too bad we aren't really kin. You would've been perfect."

Hollyleaf was taken aback. _He...he can't be serious... _She shook herself. _He's trying to trick me. There's no way he actually thinks that. Hollyleaf, he's just trying to trick you. _She hardened. For the first time since she had gotten up, Hollyleaf looked around. She blinked.

_No._

_ No..._

_ No!_

Snowtuft and Thistleclaw were seated calmly by a silver body, it's pelt lacerated with red, welting wounds, staring angrily up into the sky. The two toms were licking the blood of their claws, but once they had finished they didn't bother to groom their pelts.

Thistleclaw caught her staring. "It helps claws stay sharper." he growled. There was a wild light in his eyes, one Hollyleaf had seen in all the Dark Forest cats' eyes.

_Bloodlust._

The word rang eerily through her mind, and she staggered.

Hollyleaf's eyes ranged the WindClan camp. Only a few cats were in the clearing, and none of them were warriors. Hollyleaf wasn't even sure they were cats at this point.

_I have to be dreaming. I'm going to wake up soon, and __Ivypool will be alright, and Tigerheart will still be alive..._

But the wounds on her own pelt felt too real. The horror, the pain, the terror...

_Please, StarClan, let this be a dream..._

Hawkfrost stepped forward, a friendly gleam in his eyes. But what was it concealing?

Malice?

Hate?

Plotting?

Hollyleaf could not find a hint of a lie in his ice blue eyes.

"Will you join us, Hollyleaf?"

It was Hawkfrost.

"We know about the cats who betrayed you. How Leafpool and Squirrelflight lied to you, how Crowfeather disowned you. Even how Lionblaze had a... relationship... with a WindClan apprentice." He paused, his eyes pleading.

Hollyleaf felt rage simmering inside her.

"All those cats broke the warrior code. We could help restore that, make all your pain go away."

The rage went from a simmer to a flame, to a terrible, raging fire.

"_Uphold_ the warrior code, you mean?" She laughed maniacally. "_Uphold it_?_ You_?"

Still laughing, she had to take a deep breath before she could continue.

"You, the cat that tried to kill a leader?"

"You, the cat that tried to kill your own brother?"

"You, the cat that has killed countless innocent cats- kits and elders included?"

Slowly, she mewed, "You, the son who wanted to be like your father- a murder?"

She had a wild gleam in her eyes now, and said excitedly, "You know what? I think I- I will..."

Hawkfrost looked shocked, but pleased. "Very well, then-"

"Wait!" Hollyleaf snapped. "I wasn't finished."

"I think, I will not."

The next moments were claustrophobic, as all the Dark Forest cats crowded in around her, eager to deliver the killing blow.

She was badly outnumbered- countless enemies against her. Outnumbered ten thousand to one.

She had one more look at all the bodies around her- WindClan, ShadowClan, RiverClan, ThunderClan... and noticed one Clan was missing.

_StarClan,_ she prayed. _Please forgive me._

The fifth Clan arrived too late. There were more than just them though- there was an orange-and-white tom, his head bowed in sorrow.

"No! I promised I'd see her again!" He wailed.

Her spirit woke to his voice, and stood up dizzily.

They padded to the stars together.

**HOLLYXFALLEN 4EVAR! :D So this was pretty much just if the patrol at WindClan during the Great Battle had lost. **


	4. Died Too Young

_Died Too Young- Challenge from The Three Tribes_

I had always lived on a farm, with cows and pigs and huge fields of corn. My siblings and I lived in a barn, and we made our nests inside of a huge pile of hay, where there were cracks and tunnels everywhere to burrow into. My mother was named Rita, and she was a pretty calico with green eyes. I had several siblings, a big brave gray tabby tom, a nervous black tom with a white paw, and a calico sister. I was a tortoiseshell, and I always followed my big brother, the gray tabby. His name was Simba.

Our father used to tell us stories about big groups of cats who lived far away, even beyond the mountains, where they had moved to find more prey. Father had a funny name, it was Ravenpaw. He told us about brave cats who battled evil ones, and how when cats died there they went to live in the stars! I wanted to live in the stars, and I told father so, too, and he said if I was a good cat that maybe I would.

Wish granted.

* * *

We were all playing in the hay, and mother was out hunting, when big tall furless animals came in and tried to catch us! I hid in the hay, and so did Simba, Crow, and Flutter. Then Simba, always the brave one, stepped out to investigate. He didn't look scared at all, so I followed him. I was so busy picking my way down the hay stack I didn't realize that they had scooped him up, and now they were reaching for me!

I squeaked and tried to hind with Crow and Flutter, but they pushed me out because there wasn't enough room! One of the animals picked me up, but it didn't hurt me or eat me. It stroked me and cooed at me, and then put me down. She was really nice.

Simba bragged about being so brave later, and our mother looked worried. "Don't go near those nofurs again," she scolded. "They will take you away, and I will never see you again."

But Simba taunted her and teased her, "Scaredy cat! I bet they wouldn't take us away! I dare you to go up to them again!"

Hurt, I glared back at him. "Why don't you do it, too, scaredy cat?"

"Maybe I will!" He retorted.

So the next time they came, he went out first and I followed him, and sure enough they picked us up and took us away.

We were fed a sweet liquid that was sweeter than milk, but it made me feel sick. I couldn't see anything and I hurt all over.

The nofurs took me to an "animal hospital", and other nofurs stole my blood through a sharp point and put something else in with the same thing. It hurt so much! Simba wasn't anywhere to be seen, and I wished he would come rescue me, but he never came.

Finally the nofurs who took me came in, and they looked really sad. I didn't know why; they took me from my home, and while it was an adventure, I missed the rest of my family. Why should they care? I wasn't old enough to understand yet- just about five moons.

They wrapped me up in a soft fur, and my eyes shut and the world went black.

I was guided to StarClan by a cat with stars in her fur. She had friendly, warm eyes and fur as white as snow. It is always warm and there is always plenty of food. I'm almost happy now. I just have to wait for my brothers and sister.

My father named me Petalkit.

**So, this was actually based on my kitten who died before we even got home from the vacation we got her and her brother on. She had diabetes. ;( My parents got me another kitten, and I decided to name them both Nala. My brother was _really_ mean to Simba (as in throw him down the stairs when he was a KITTEN- yeah, I know, he's insane!) and Simba started going crazy and attacking Nala, so she has a pretty sad life, too. :(**

**Oh, random fact: I chose the name Petalkit because on most of the forums I RP on I base my cat off of both Nalas and named her Petalbreeze.**

**Keep reviewing! This is the only book I don't need reviews for to update, but I still need feedback! :D**


	5. First Battle

First Battle: SnowClan Challenge

Two lines of cats faced each other, hissing and spitting and snarling insults and profanities.

In the midst of all the chaos, there was a certain apprentice.

Fearless. Confident.

Arrogant.

Stupid.

And he had a friend- or, rather, the kind of cat one hopes to become more than friends with.

She was crouching next to him, the silver fur on her spine rippling, her blue eyes flashing with cold fire at the enemy. She had an odd mark on her forehead, like a sliver of the moon, or a claw. Or a curved fang.

The tom's amber eyes glared heatedly at enemies, and he was lashing his tail, his jet-black fur spiked, darker than night. He was too confident.

The enemy warriors could sense it and bade their own apprentices take note. Some of the more clever apprentices would be pitted against him by their mentors.

One especially clever golden-furred apprentice took note of the invisible yet painfully obvious bond between the black tom and the silvery she-cat. In war, any and all advantages are to be used.

Then, on silent signal, the two lines of cats leaped at each other to become writhing, snarling, bleeding balls of tearing fur and whirling claws.

The lean black apprentice had a brother. Though not larger, the ginger tabby was more-well muscled than his brother, but the black one was quicker.

And, have I mentioned, arrogant?

After batting one of his own foe's away, a tiny apprentice, too young to be any threat, the black apprentice leaped to the rescue of his younger twin, who was fighting a warrior twice their size.

Together they beat him back, and the warrior, much to his embarrassment, was forced to back down.

"Thanks, Flintpaw," the ginger one gasped, dodging two warriors locked in combat.

"No prob, Flamepaw," the black tom shot back.

The two fought as a team, making carefully sure to only fight one cat at a time.

Flintpaw chased off another scrawny apprentice.

Then he heard a painfully familiar pain-filled yowl.

He whipped around, eyes widening, and charged towards the sound, leaving his brother behind.

Skidding to a halt, he faced a golden apprentice. Not much larger than he, but stronger. Pinned on her back was the she-cat, breathing rapidly and staring up into golden fur.

"Leave the battle now, and no-one gets hurt," growled the golden apprentice.

Flintpaw bristled. "You wouldn't _dare_," he spat, lashing his tail.

"Fli-" the she-cat started, only to break off with a gasp as the golden tom held his claws to her throat.

"You wouldn't," Flintpaw growled again. "It's against the warrior code."

The golden tom's amber eyes were chillingly cold. "Try me."

He sank his claws into her throat, just a little, but enough to draw beads of blood.

"Let her go!" Flintpaw roared, launching himself at the golden tom.

But he was only batted away. His head bounced off a rock and for a split second he couldn't think. Couldn't comprehend the sight of blood spilling out of a silver throat, glazed deep blue eyes staring at him, jaws parted in a soundless yowl.

He lay there and blinked.

_No._

_ NO._

"_NO!"_ He screeched, shooting up and at the startled golden apprentice.

"I- I- I didn't mea-" he started, but was cut off when the black bullet rammed into his chest.

"_You killed her_!" He screeched. "_You killed her_!" He tore into golden fur, then red flesh, not noticing his own growing wounds. They were the last ones fighting, and it took four warriors to restrain them.

"He killed her!" Flintpaw kept howling. "He killed her!" He would not stop fighting until that tom was not breathing. Until there was no more blood for his heart to pump and so it stopped. Until his body was soaked in his own blood.

But it would have to wait. The golden apprentice and his Clanmates were leaving, and so were Flintpaw's.

He heard someone call the golden apprentice's name. He would never forget it.

Then he heard someone call his own name and turned, but no one was there.

_Flintpaw. Wait for me._

_ I will, Fangpaw,_ he sobbed silently. _I always will._

After that battle, he was different.

Colder.

Silent.

Thoughtful.

Becuase one cannot plot murder out loud.

Flamepaw asked their leader if they could be named after her- the silver she-cat with the fang-like black mark on her forehead.

They became Flintfang and Flamefang, and one will not rest until the cat who killed Fangpaw bleeds his life out onto the hard-packed ground, and the blood flows in rivulets till it pools.


	6. Sic Semper Tyrannis

**SolarClan Challenge: Mistake: Sic Semper Tyrannis**

I made a mistake_. And it was all because of an arrogant leader. He simply had to challenge my Clan- notorious for their cold hearts and fierce fighting. I am Iceblaze, deputy of ShadowClan; named for my icy eyes that match my icy heart, and my brilliant fighting techniques. I think of ways to get out of any situation, or help my Clan in any way I can._

_Like when said leader made a mistake- the mistake of trespassing on _my _territory._

Countless pairs of eyes- amber, green, yellow, blue- gleamed viciously in the faded moonlight. On a silent signal, cats that smelled of forests and leaves leaped at an intimidating line of cats scented like pines and water. There were several pained screeches and enraged yowls as the two sides collided, ThunderClan and ShadowClan- on ShadowClan land.

One she-cat saw several of her Clanmates fall- dead. She realized that the ThunderClan under this new leader's rule had changed immensely from the rule of the three before it- Lionstar, Bramblestar, and Firestar; Lionstar's son, Redstar, had played the part of the loyal caring warrior only concerned with his Clan- he had pulled a Tigerstar, the only difference being that he hadn't gotten caught.

This she-cat, a small tortoiseshell with the coldest icy eyes any cat had ever seen that burned with a blazing hate, screeched with fury. "Retreat!"

Her Clanmates backed away, hissing and spitting, and bolted away. Only the icy-eyed she cat stayed, glaring defiance at all of ThunderClan. She smirked. "Catch me if you can, fat forest lumps!" She yowled over her shoulder. She had carefully planned the route she would take when running- she had practiced it until she knew every twist, turn, up, down, over, under, and where not to trip. She had informed her Clanmates of her plan before the battle, knowing that ShadowClan could never win on equal terms- ThunderClan fought dirty under Redstar's rule, so in order to survive, they would have to as well.

The route the small tortoiseshell had planned to take would ensure her Clan would have time to get their wounds treated- and the warriors that hadn't fought would be able to take any dead cats right out from under ThunderClan's nose, as all of ThunderClan was hot on her trail.

The she-cat emerged into a boggy clearing where her Clanmates were gathered. ThunderClan was still far behind, being held up by the tricky path, losing her scent occasionally, but finding it again. "You know the drill." She meowed, her voice strong. "It's hard for us to fight in marshes, but we've practiced- ThunderClan will be helpless."

A calico she-cat with eyes almost as icy as the tortoiseshell's nodded. "There's no way we can lose with your plan, Iceblaze."

Iceblaze gave a lopsided grin- it was beautiful, in a rugged, carefree way, as if they weren't about to battle for their lives. "Thank you, Snowblaze. I trust every member of my Clan with my life, but no cat more than you, my sister."

Snowblaze purred. "And I you," she mewed.

"Remember," Iceblaze mewed, her gaze becoming somber. "We fight for our fallen Clanmates, our living Clanmates, and our future Clanmates. That is why we must do what we are about to do. We must guarantee the survival of our kits and their kits to come. For ShadowClan!"

"For ShadowClan!" The cats roared, just as ThunderClan barged into the clearing. The ShadowClan cats charged, working in pairs, defending each other and themselves. The ThunderClan cats were astonished. This was not the ShadowClan that they had known moments ago. Iceblaze and Snowblaze fought back-to-back, brutally wounding any and all opponents or other ThunderClan cats that they came across, and shoving them down into the stagnant briney water. This had been her plan- pair up the warriors with whomever they fought best with. ShadowClan would wound the ThunderClan cats and shove them into the dirty water- and with luck, the cats would die of infection.

The origin of this idea had occurred when, during a border patrol, a ThunderClan patrol had shown up and tried to start a fight, only to be stopped by their medicine cat, who reminded them that they were low on herbs. Iceblaze having been there almost instantly came up with the plan- they would steal some of ThunderClan's territory, and with their leader as Redstar, ThunderClan would certainly attack.

When ThunderClan realized what was going on, they fled terrified. Redstar, who had led the battle patrol himself, was furious. "Hold your ground!" He screeched. He glared at Iceblaze who barely tried to suppress a smirk.

Redstar smirked back. "Catch me if you-" Iceblaze rammed into him with surprising force force for a cat of her size, leaving Redstar winded. "Wish granted." She snarled.

A messenger from the ShadowClan camp arrived at that moment. "Nine dead, Iceblaze." There were wails from several cats as he listed the names: " Finchfeather, Sparrowwing, Badgerfang, Ivyleaf, Stoneclaw, Cedarbranch, Flamestrike, Featherstreak, and…"

The messenger gulped.

Iceblaze and Snowblaze exchanged horrified glances. "Streamblaze…" They whispered.

Icestrike did not hesitate for a heartbeat. She sank her fangs into Redstar's throat and bit down hard, as if she were killing prey. The life bled out of him, and he was silent. He came back with a gasp.

"How fitting." Iceblaze snarled coldly. "Nine of my Clan dead because of you. You have nine lives- eight, now. My sister has been avenged."

Iceblaze looked up. "Any cat who wishes revenge for someone they love, step forward," She yowled. "And remember that this cat has been the cause for death in the other Clans, as well," she hissed, spitting on Redstar.

Eight cats stepped forward- one for each other cat who had been killed.

The messenger, Flintfang, for his mate, Finchfeather.

Hawkstrike and Eagletalon each for their kits besides Finchfeather: Sparrowwing and Featherstreak. All of their kits were now dead or dying; they had one more dangerously wounded back at camp.

Foxtail stepped up for her brother, Badgerfang, her lip curled savagely. She lashed her thick red tail, its white tip splattered with blood and her fur matted. It was easy to see why she had been named as she had.

Ivyleaf and Stoneclaw had been each others' only living kin, and so their loyal friends Oakfall and Swiftstream stepped up, bristling with rage.

Stoneclaw's brother, Boulderstorm, prowled forward, his huge gray form ominous as his amber eyes flashed and gleamed.

Cedarbranch was to be avenged by his mate, Fernstrike, her face still dripping blood from the battle, and her tail tip twitching eagerly.

Flamestrike, Flintfang's brother, was to be avenged by his former apprentice, Blossomwind.

Redstar was executed with varying degrees of wrath, and some cats prolonged his death more than others.

_Eight…_

_Seven…_

_Six…_

_Five…_

_Four…_

_Three…_

_Two…_

_One..._

The tyrant lay dead in a pool of his own blood. His fur's color was changed only slightly by it; it was glossy and sleek and shiny now, but as blood-red as always.

"Now," Iceblaze hissed, kicking dirt on his body as she turned to face her cats, "To punish the cats who did his dirty work."

She was met by screeches and wild cheers of approval, and the ShadowClan cats began to plot the deaths of their enemies, and inevitably the deaths of their own.


	7. Water Will Destroy Them

Clans of the Sea Challenge: Numbers: Water

_Water. The fate of all the _Clans. The flame would save them, and the water would destroy them.

So it was with Bluestar, the most selfless leader of ThunderClan to ever hold nine lives for them; Bluestar, who gave up her kits to lead her Clan; Bluestar, whose love defied the laws of her Clan; Bluestar, whose loyalty ended in the death of her lover and finally herself.

Her flame was quenched, the fire of her soul put out, and another carried it on. But what did he give up, the tom with the pelt of flame? His cush life? That was his desire. With Bluestar, there was no desire, only her loyalty. She dreaded to give her kits away, mourned secretly the death of her mate whom she had given up, was driven mad with grief, and sacrificed even herself for her Clan.

Some call Firestar the greatest leader of ThunderClan, but they are those who cannot fathom the depth Bluestar went to ensure her Clan's safety. They cannot imagine the grief she caused herself so that those around her could be happy. If they could, they surely would realize that it is not Firestar, great though he may be, but Bluestar who should hold the title of ThunderClan's greatest modern leader, the Thunderer, who lighted the spark from which her Clan became the blaze of light which ignited the other Clans and burnt out the Darkness from within them.

That blaze, however, was not to last. How could it, when such noble cats as her and her prodige were fallen? When there was no longer a memory of them? When even Bluestar was forgotten, and she faded trying still to kindle the flame to withstand the oncoming storm?

And so, the Clans doomed themselves. By remembering the names of the Dark Ones, and forgetting those of the Flame, they unwittingly fed the Dark Forest stronger and stronger cats. It was a dam waiting to burst, and only needed time to let it crumble.

Crumble it did. The veil between living and dead blurred. The living were so afraid of the Fallen Dark Ones that, by remembering them always, they became stronger and stronger, until the dam that was the Dark Forest simply could not contain them.

It was subtle, at first; a kit missing here, a cat wounded by some strange-smelling rogue there; but it escalated on a scale so quickly, driven by the fear of the living, that the trickle became a stream, the stream a flood. Even those who fled, far, far away, were hunted down, no matter the distance. The Dark Ones could sense them, the fear that drove them, the memories haunting them.

Few living cats remembered their Light ancestors, the Bringers of the Flame. By that time, however, they were so weak they could only watch as the Flood drowned out the flames and sparks.

The flames were quenched by the waters, their ashes blown into oblivion, and the flood burst into steam. The living died, and all the dead died again with them. The water destroyed them all, and then itself.


	8. Sky Song

_Warriors of the Sea Challenge: What If?: Sky Song_

_At the dawning of the Clans,_ when Tall Shadow, River Ripple, Clear Sky, Wind Runner, and Thunder roamed the old forests, and the Clans had not yet been spurred into existence, tensions were high. Clear Sky, the leader-to-be of SkyClan, was fierce and aggressive, with Tigerstar's ideas of strength and Brokenstar's lust for power.

When the Clans were founded, his attitude enveloped his Clan. SkyClan, the lost Clan, was eventually driven out of the forest by the other four. Their home was destroyed, their territory effectively razed, and they were scattered, forgotten in a mere few generations.

At least, until the leaders who had banished the forsaken Clan made an appeal to the greatest cats of StarClan. Those four leaders, who had doomed the Clan to die out until Sandstorm and Firestar had managed to rebuilt it, pled with all of StarClan to give SkyClan a second chance. Surely there was a way to change the past, to let SkyClan stay?

The leaders of StarClan refused. Such a thing was impossible in the way that the four guilt-ridden leaders wished, but they showed them something else instead.

Looking out over the Moonpool sat Bluestar, Firestar, and Cloudstar, along with the leaders who had denied SkyClan their territory. The latter five were nearly faded, transparent, their voices soft as a forest breeze.

Cloudstar touched his nose to the pond. "Look," he directed his four fellow leaders, his face void of any emotion.

There, rippling on the surface, was his mate, Birdflight. She had long since faded, reunited with her mate with her last starry breath. She was kitting, the medicine cats soothing her and helping her.

There were two kits, glimpsed for an instant before a change of scene which showed them grown and strong, living in ThunderClan. One was a dark tabby tom with amber eyes, and the other a dappled tortoiseshell she-cat whose appearance nearly took Firestar's breath away.

Then the flame-colored tom touched his nose to the water, and Spottedleaf appeared in the reflection beside her ancestor, Birdflight's daughter, named Spottedpelt. The resemblance was all too clear in the water.

"As you can see," Bluestar mewed softly to all the leaders. "SkyClan never did truly leave." She touched her nose to the pond. More cats appeared: Tigerstar himself, Brambleclaw, Tawnypelt, Hawkfrost, Mothwing, Sorreltail and her kits, Graystripe, Feathertail of RiverClan, Stormfur of the Tribe and his kits, Bumblestripe, Briarlight, Blossomfall, Sandstorm, Leafpool, Lionblaze, Hollyleaf, Jayfeather, and Squirrelflight and her kits.

"There are others," she continued, whisking her tail over the water. The small ripples lapped at the vision in the water, which was fading with each wave. "We cannot name them all. Some are forgotten; others still live, descendants of Spottedleaf's brothers and sisters, their lives led believing they have always been of ThunderClan, or even the Tribe," she added, referring to Stormfur and his lineage.

Cloudstar stepped up. "I am willing to forgive our past heartaches," he mewed, his once-strong voice soft and weak with ages of being forgotten, "If you will help these my descendants to know who they truly are. What they do with such information is of no importance, only let them know that they are the last of the lost Clan."

Bluestar and Firestar watched, Firestar's gaze lingering on the pool where Spottedleaf's shape had appeared. Since her Fading, he had wished with all his heart that he could tell her how grateful he was to her for saving his mate's life. He had to content himself with the fact that she would know, undoubtedly, wherever she was.

Bluestar only watched as the four leaders hastily and anxiously agreed, giving heartfelt apologies.

"We will," they assured Cloudstar. "We promise we will."

Cloudstar only let out a sigh, one of relief and resignation. "Thank you." He was disappearing before their eyes. Only his desire to see his blood know where they came from had held him this long. "Thank you."

The ancient leader faded, and the four guilty of his first death were quick to speak with his kin. Three sped off to ThunderClan, one to the Tribe, to tell them of their lineage. Some were proud of their heritage, at the resilience of their blood Clan, while others shied away from the thought of being mixed blood, or kept it to themselves. But, one way or another, they knew, and their kits, and their kits' kits, that they were SkyClan warriors as well as ThunderClan warriors.

This led to conflict. ThunderClan split, more than half claiming SkyClan ancestry and shunning those of only ThunderClan blood while only associating with others of SkyClan descent, and the other half trying to get their Clanmates, friends, mates, and kits to stay as ThunderClan. But alas, they would not listen; ThunderClan was cut in under half its previous size, and weakened severely.

And that is how ThunderClan was driven out of the forest, kin against kin, for the vengeance of a long-dead Clan newly resurrected, but with all the fiery spirit of their ancestors. They were as proud as Clear Sky, as fierce as Tigerstar, and as stubborn as Sandstorm. They became the strongest of the Clans, and ThunderClan was a legend used to warn kits to stay clear of SkyClan warriors.


	9. Silent Song

_**Warriors of the Sea: Lyrical: Silent Song**_

_Silence is a sound, or lack_ of, that is sometimes relaxing, other times enjoyed, and oftentimes feared.

In my experience, silence means fear.

Ah, my apologies- I have yet to introduce myself. I am Ravenpaw, formerly of ThunderClan, but now I roam the stars with my kin and friends.

Silence is mostly what I remember from my short time with my Clan. Let me give you some backstory. Please, this way.

Here, touch your nose to the pool. Don't worry, I'm not going to push you in. There we go. Now, please watch closely.

_A scrawny, small black tomcat cowers in the cover of a bush, flat against the ground. His ears are flattened, and his eyes huge as he watches a horrible scene unfold in front of him. The dash of white of his chest seems to flutter with his rapid breaths and pounding heart, which he is sure will give him away, but the scent of blood from his wounds would be more likely._

_Before him, a calico tom with a plumy red tail trots briskly through the undergrowth, his pelt ragged with the scars and blood of the recent battle. The calico tom, Redtail, deputy of ThunderClan is anxious and angry, but overall concerned for his Clanmates, whom he had sent ahead of him. _

_He should have been concerned about the Clanmate _behind _him. _

_Tigerclaw's broad, dark shape is hidden in the foliage of the forest, with the exception of his deep amber eyes focused on the ThunderClan deputy. He is as quiet as a snowing winter's night, his pawsteps light, and his fur brushing under the dense undergrowth so that it sounds like the wind rustling the bushes._

_Ravenpaw, a few fox-lengths away from both his mentor and deputy, almost takes a breath to warn Redtail, but he is frozen in fear and horror as Tigerclaw leaps. _

_Redtail yowls out a strangled cry as Tigerclaw buries his claws into the tom's back and lands with a thud. "Get off me, you RiverClan scum-!" The calico starts, only to cut himself off when he glimpses unmistakably, even with his face half-smothered in the ground, the broad shape of Tigerclaw._

_Tigerclaw lets out a low chuckle, more like a growl than anything, then snarls something that makes Redtail scrabble, trying to escape the huge tom. _

_Redtail takes a gulp of air, ready to cry out, but Tigerclaw silences him forever as Ravenpaw's eyes are locked to the scene of the crime._

I'm sure you picked up on this, but so many things went wrong that day.

I was silent when I should have called for help.

Tigerclaw's intentions were not known in the slightest, because he was silent.

Redtail died because he stayed silent for too long, and so did I.

And then I made it worse by not telling anyone about his death, until Graypaw and Firepaw came along. But how could I have known Tigerclaws ultimate intentions? I _couldn't_. I know that now, but at the time I was too guilt-ridden and terrified to think of anything except that his death was my fault, and that I could be next.

While many cats keep secrets that are hidden deep and dark, it is often easy to identify such a cat. Maybe they're overly defensive or offensive, maybe they just get irritated.

The most terrifying thing about Tigerclaw was that nobody saw him coming or even suspected that he was plotting anything.

It makes you wonder what other cats hide.


	10. Fallen Shadows

_Warriors of the Sea: Background Noise: Fallen Shadows_

_Finally. Finally, after moons and moons_ of waiting for this opportunity, it had arrived.

It would not be as satisfying as she had hoped, now that the kin of her enemies had already died. Her former mate's descendants- Willownose, Shyheart, Applefrost, Shellheart, Oakheart, Crookedstar, Mosskit, Stonefur, Mistystar, Perchkit, Pikepaw, Primrosepaw, and finally Reedwhisker were all dead. Appledusk, her former mate, was not yet faded, but he would be soon, the calico she-cat assured herself. _Soon._

Her three kits appeared before her sometimes. Part of her knew that they were a hallucination, but the rest of her, mad with grief, locked that part of her conscience away.

_Why didn't Appledusk want us?_ Her only she-kit cried, mewling with despondance a kit should not know.

_Our deaths are his fault!_ Whimpered another, a black tom.

_Mother, help us! Why should his other kits get more life than us?_ The last, a calico tomkit would ask with jealousy.

"I'm sorry," Mapleshade would always reply, her tone varying sometimes from a whisper to a screech. "I'm so, so sorry, my beautiful kits. I promise I'll make it fair."

_It's not fair!_ The she-kit, Petalkit, suddenly screeched.

_You have to make it fair!_ Larchkit growled.

_Kill them! _Patchkit hissed.

And so Mapleshade was driven to insanity by grief, and vowed that Appledusk's kin from his other mate would suffer.

Suffer they did. Some died in the mountains, forgotten by both their blood Clans. One was killed by a cat under the influence of the Dark Forest. A kit froze on her way to the same river where Mapleshade's kits were lost. Some died in battle, others from _accidents_. But they were strong, though Mapleshade cared not about their strength or resilience. Only that she avenged her kits.

She had, in a way, now that all her enemies were dead. But their spirits lingered, and so she could not be at peace.

Single-pawed, Mapleshade fought with a savagery to rival even Tigerstar's.

When StarClan descended to fight for the Clans, she could have leaped for joy. Finally, a chance to end her hunger for vengeance once and for all.

She sought out her enemies, kicking aside anyone in her way. She fought Appledusk and won, staring down at his already-faded form until it vanished completely. Then, she killed his other mate, Reedshine, gleefully, prolonging her death unnecessarily.

But her kits kept pleading. Why should anyone be happy when they, as a family, couldn't?

_Not fair, not fair!_

Her kits were right. What had she done wrong, except to love her mate and kits? Bluestar had committed the same crime as she had, but her and Oakheart's kits had lived longer, though Mapleshade made sure they weren't as happy as they could have been.

_Leaders have power. Power makes cats happy. So does family, but we can't have either!_ Her kits wailed on and on, and they would not be silent.

She knew exactly who to target next, and before she knew it her paws had carried her to the ThunderClan camp, her kits' cries speeding her paws. She scarcely could remember who she killed in her haste to reach her new enemy, and she was immune to the pain of her wounds, though they were already few.

She bowled into Sandstorm after fighting through a wave of cats locked in combat. "You!" She screeched. "You have everything I ever wanted! A mate who loves you, kits who grow to have kits of their own! The respect of your Clan! Why should you have all this when I am cursed with despair?!"

Before Sandstorm could answer a spitting reply, Mapleshade leaped again to tear into her. A streak of spotted fur rammed into her, and she tumbled to the ground.

Mapleshade hissed, whirling on her toes, then laughed when she saw Spottedleaf. "What could the medicine cat who loved Firestar gain by saving his mate?" She snapped, her matted calico fur and wild eyes giving her a crazed light. Her long, white tail lashed, unfeeling to the bites and fur clawed out of it.

Surely, Mapleshade thought, Spottedleaf could understand.

Spottedleaf hissed, her eyes sparking. "Sandstorm made Firestar happy!"

_That made _her _happy, Mapleshade. We can't ever be happy. It's not fair._

Mapleshade let out a guttural snarl. A blood-stained paw lashed out at the medicine cat's throat, and then Spottedleaf was on the ground, bleeding out of her neck.

Mapleshade paid no heed to anything else going on around her, turning back to Sandstorm. The ginger she-cat's eyes blazed with hate, and Mapleshade relished the chance to put up a good fight.

Not wanting to be caught with the whole Clan on her tail- even she knew she couldn't fight them all off- Mapleshade hared out the damaged camp entrance, her lashing tail catching thorns from it left and right.

She sped off down a well-trodden path, scenting Sandstorm's rapidly gaining pawsteps behind her, then spun, matted fur bristling where it could, her back arched.

Sandstorm spat at her disdainfully. "Killing a medicine cat? That's a whole new low for you."

Mapleshade purred smoothly. "You don't know the half of it."

Just as she was preparing to strike, Sandstorm struck first, her speed and strength greater than that of any Dark Forest warrior.

Mapleshade felt nothing, and then everything. She fell to the ground, dizzy and disoriented.

"No, no," she rambled, feeling herself slipping. "I'm sorry, my kits, I couldn't save y-you…" She let out a pained cough, splattering blood across the forest floor. It mixed with the blood of others, killed and wounded, all screaming for vengance. "I couldn't…"

"That's for Spottedleaf," Sandstorm mewed coldly, not a hint of pity in her eyes. She turned to limp back the way she had come, kicking dirt over Mapleshade's flickering form.

Mapleshade's kits finally let her sleep.


	11. Through the Forest's Misty Night

_**Warriors of the Sea Challenge: Alternate Times: Tyger, Tyger, Burning Bright, Through the Forest's Misty Night**_

Legends will go on for generations of the mighty Tigerstar, the fierce ThunderClan turnfoot known for his ambition, ferocity, and deadly claws; son of Leopardfoot, mate of Goldenflower, father of the loyal ThunderClan leader Bramblestar, the treacherous Hawkfrost of RiverClan, and Mothwing the faithless medicine cat under Mistystar's rule.

But what of his unfortunate siblings, Mistkit and Nightkit, who perished soon after their birth? The black she-kit and her gray-pelted sister could have done so much more.

StarClan knew this, and they believed that it was the key to changing the past; to calm the reckless leader's burning and deadly ambition, saving countless lives in the process. So, they sent the kits back to dissuade their brother from his reckless past.

How sorry they would have been if they had existed still to see the state of their Clans once they did.

* * *

Leopardfoot had been in for a shock during the night. She had discovered both her she-kits, Mistkit and Nightkit, still as stones, neither of them breathing. Upon examination of them by Goosefeather, but mostly Featherwhisker, the gunk from their noses and lungs was swiftly removed, and miraculously they both lived. After that incident, their condition had improved rapidly; they and Tigerkit were all completely healed and back to regular, energetic kits within three moons. Their father, Pinestar, abandoned his Clan shortly thereafter. The kits were fine with it, at first; he hadn't played a huge role in their short lives.

They began to harbor growing resentment against him, however, as they grew into apprentices and began their training. That was first where the kits began to follow the wrong path. StarClan, the StarClan of this era, knew nothing of it; only that some starry cat with flaming ginger fur, with all the command in his countenance of a Clan leader, and refused to share his name, had persuaded them to save the two kits in order to prevent a horrible massacre. They did.

The Dark Forest, on the other hand, scarcely known by anyone in the Clans, rejoiced. While StarClan could know who would be saviors of the Clans, the Dark Forest cats knew who could bring about their downfall. While the fate of Tigerkit's siblings looked as if it were glum, they had all known they would not stand a chance against the Clans. But now, with the ferocious tabby and his two sisters, _now…_

* * *

Nightpaw woke into a dream. It was a familiar landscape- the sunningrocks, where she was sometimes taken to hunt and train. Always quick to observe, the jet-black apprentice noted that it was slightly different; there were no stars in the sky, and the shadows seemed to bristle with untold stories of hatred and anger. The fur along her spine prickled, and she spun around suddenly, bristling, as she sensed someone watching her.

It was Mistpaw, looking around, bewildered. "Nightpaw!" She exclaimed when she saw her sister, her face lighting up. "This place," she continued nervously, scampering over to Nightpaw. "It doesn't feel right."

"I know," Nightpaw replied, frowning into the shadows. Was that a cat's eyes, or-?

Tigerpaw was suddenly beside them, staring around. "This is a weird dream," he muttered. "What kind of shadows feel… wrong?" He eyed the undergrowth warily, flexing his long claws.

_There_, Nightpaw snapped up straight, bristling. She was sure she'd seen something- a glimpse of a shape, feline, in the shadows, with unblinking amber eyes. She backed up against her siblings, claws extended. From the way they pressed against her, she could tell they'd seen it, too.

"Who's there?" Tigerpaw growled, his voice cracking with fear.

A cat stepped out of the shadows, seemingly materializing out of thin air. He was a cream-colored cat, or so Nightpaw suspected, as she couldn't see the true color of his pelt. She realized with a shock that it wasn't because his pelt was dirty and matted with leaves and mud, as she had first thought- he was practically _translucent_. She could make out dark and lighter patches, but no more. The tom held himself in a manner that demanded compliance. She swallowed the bile in her throat, her fur bristling into spiked clumps and her claws digging into the ground.

"Who are you?" Tigerpaw hissed warily, eyeing the tom.

"At ease, Tigerpaw," the cat grunted. Nightpaw already hated his voice- rough and hard and conceited. "And you, Nightpaw, Mistpaw," he added, inspecting them.

None of the trio moved a muscle.

"I'm Maggottail," the warrior stated, not a trace of emotion on his face.

Nightpaw decided she hated this cat, very very much. While Tigerpaw seemed to be slowly relaxing, Mistpaw was rooted to the ground in terror. The gray apprentice's eyes were huge, her fur bushed so that she looked nearly as big as Tigerpaw, when in reality she was the smaller than both her brother and her sister.

Nightpaw shifted, blocking her sister from Maggottail's view. "What do you want?" She snapped, her green eyes flashing with a spiteful warning as he tried to step forward.

"To help," he stated simply, taking another step forward.

"With what?" She retorted coldly, not buying a word of what he said. Cats who hid their true emotions always had more to hide. She had learned that when Pinestar had left them, even if her siblings had forgotten it.

"Your training, of course," he sniffed, still padding forward, his gaze fixed over her shoulder on Mistpaw.

Nightpaw shifted again, blocking her sister from his view. "Stop right there." She spat, her fur bristling and prickling. Mistpaw was frozen, and Tigerpaw seemed to be lost in thought, his amber eyes fixed vacantly on the imposing tom. Nightpaw wished he would snap out of it, but there was no way she would admit weakness in front of this vile cat.

Maggottail took another step forward. He was close enough for her to strike him, and she could smell his awful breath.

"I'm here to help you all with your training," he insisted, his face still expressionless. "Y-"

He had taken another step forwards, and Nightpaw moved so quickly he never saw it coming.

The dark apprentice, bristling until she resembled one of the shadows scattered across the scenery, had hit him across the face, claws unsheathed, leaving a wound that already began to trickle with blood on Maggottail's chin.

He had backed up, but only after the blow. He wiped at his chin with a paw, and let out a low, rumbling laugh that made all three apprentices uncomfortable.

Nightpaw began to relax as he made no move against any of them, keeping his distance. _Thank StarClan, he's a cowar-_ she opened her jaws in a silent screech as, just as swiftly as she had thrown her blow, he threw his. She landed with a gasping choke against one of the sunningrocks, then tumbled to the ground. She could feel her chest heaving for air, but couldn't sense any filling her lungs. For several heartbeats, she was totally disoriented, until through her blurred vision she saw Mistpaw standing over her, and was suddenly aware of air rushing into her lungs.

As she caught her breath, Nightpaw realized Tigerpaw was talking to Maggottail, and not in a threatening manner. He seemed to be _excited_. Her confusion twisted to spite, and then to hate. How _dare_ he? Nightpaw forced herself to be calm, masking her expression. Two could play at that game, she thought bitterly.

Muscles burning from the lack of air, she forced herself to stand, trembling, but refused to lean on Mistpaw, much as she wanted to.

Maggottail's eyes wandered back to her. "Yours was a nice blow," he admitted, giving her a brief moment of praise that made Tigerpaw scowl to himself and Nightpaw bare her fangs at both of them. "But," his eyes hardened, and Nightpaw met his gray-green eyes with her own of brilliant green, "If you are to train here, you must respect your superiors."

Nightpaw spat at him. "What makes you any better than I?" She demanded, lashing her tail. "Go find someone else to train, you piece of fox-dung," she sniffed; Mistpaw let out a tiny gasp at her language. Ignoring her, Nightpaw continued: "We'll have no part with you. _None._"

She whirled around, padding to where she had first awoken into the dream, Mistpaw scrambling after her. Tigerpaw followed, after saying something to Maggottail that Nightpaw couldn't catch, and the huge tom nodded, his cold, dull green eyes narrowing.

Nightpaw woke abruptly, then bit her tongue to keep herself from sobbing or shrieking; she didn't know which would happen if she opened her mouth. She could still feel the hard rocks slamming against her spine and ribcage, her breath hitching in her throat. But how-? It had just been a dream.

All doubt was erased from her mind when Mistpaw awoke, shaking, and Tigerpaw with a concerned look on his face.

Nightpaw felt a twinge of wrath at her brother, and her eyes watered with the abrupt fury. She turned away pointedly to rest her head on Mistpaw's comfortingly.

Mistpaw's and Nightpaw's sleep went undisturbed. Nightpaw knew it hadn't been a dream, but she had managed to convince Mistpaw that it was so; her back and side were bruised from rolling around on a rock all night. It was just an awful coincidence.

Nightpaw also knew that Tigerpaw was going back to that place, the Forest of Shadows, she had decided to call it. She wondered often what he had told Maggottail, and assumed that it was something along the lines of leaving them alone for a certain length of time. Someday, she figured, she would know. She figured it wouldn't really matter, but it made all the difference in the world.

* * *

It happened on the morning of their vigil, the three of them sitting tall, proudly bearing their new names; Nightfall, Tigerclaw, and Mistbreeze. The dawn was just starting to tint the horizon a frosty shade of pink; Mistbreeze and Nightfall sat on one side of the camp entrance, their fur brushing, and Tigerclaw on the other side. Mistbreeze had grown apart from their brother over their apprenticeship, but Nightfall showed him outright distrust and dislike.

Nightfall had sensed the intruder a heartbeat too late. She couldn't make out the intruder clearly in the fuzzy, blurred, early-morning light, but whoever it was escaped only by the swift precision of his attack. One moment, the shape, darkened against the pale, filtered light, was there at Mistbreeze's throat; the next, it was gone into the forest, leaving Mistbreeze bleeding out her young life onto the hard-packed earth trailing into the camp. The soft-furred gray she-cat was dead the moment she fell limply into the grass, her blue eyes vacant and misted over.

Shrieking with all the force of the river in full-flood, Nightfall leaped after the murderer. Tigerclaw barred her way. "There's nothing you can do," he told her in a pained growl. "It won't change anything."

Muted and shocked, Nightfall turned and stumbled over to her sister's body, unfeeling of everything; her paws, soaking up her sister's blood, which trickled through the grass in rivulets, pooling as it collected in a dip in the hardened earth; her Clanmates, some awake, others blearily and confused, searching for the source of the monstrous shriek they had heard; Tigerclaw, whose crestfallen face Nightfall could tell was hiding something, just as it always had. This time, it was something new, and she determined she knew what it was.

Nightfall was just glad that Mistbreeze had gotten her warrior name before she died. That did not stop her from feeding her lust for vengeance.

* * *

Nightfall opened her eyes to the familiar gloom and spiked, hate-filled surroundings of the Shadowed Forest. She was sitting, her tail wrapped around her legs, her brilliant green eyes as hard as the earth that had refused to soak up her sister's blood. The muted colors, limited to black, brown, tan, and gray, of the Place of No Stars matched perfectly with Nightfall's pelt, but her eyes stood out.

It had been a few moons since Mistbreeze's murder. Originally, when the Clan let her off of her duties for a quarter-moon after the incident, she had been tempted to rush in head first and claw Maggottail's and Tigerclaw's faces off, but decided against that. She knew some of what they trained for here, and she had practiced on her own after spying on Tigerclaw practicing some of the moves on his own.

Calm and collected, she waited for someone to find her. Nightfall would not, much as she would have liked to, wander until she found someone else, or she would be sorely tempted to rip their limbs off one-by-one.

If her eyes had not been so green, she might have gone unnoticed, thought to be another shadow. She was sure to blink as little as possible, scanning the undergrowth cautiously for signs of movement; Nightfall would not allow herself to be ambushed in the way Mistbreeze had.

She wasn't just being paranoid; Nightfall had followed the scent trail of the mystery cat until it simply vanished. There was no possible way for the perpetrator to have escaped; the trail ended in the small clearing outlooking sunningrocks and the river, not near any tunnels, caves, or trees.

Something stirred in the corner of her vision; Nightfall stared straight ahead, as cool as if nothing had happened. Whoever it was slipped out of her field of sight, behind her. She waited. _One, two, three, four, five, six,_ she counted silently, calculating the time it would take for the cat stalking her to reach her and attack.

_Seven, eight, nine._ She spun on her toes, silent, as she heard a rush of air behind her, and leaped high in the air. She recognized Maggottail in the heartbeat it took before she came crashing down on him, blows raining from her unsheathed claws like hail during a thunderstorm.

If he tried to block, she simply clawed the fur off his legs, and sometimes clumps of skin and blood with it. If he dodged, she didn't have so much power thrown into her blows that she would stumbled forwards. Timing her attacks well, she made sure to trip him if he was stumbling, or give him a clout to the face if blood ran into his eyes. She noticed with a savage satisfaction that he was scarred from their first meeting; pale scar tissue ran along his jaw, and she ripped it open afresh with another blow like the first one she had ever given him.

"Enough," Maggottail growled, spitting blood out of his mouth. This time, she saw, Nightfall had torn through his cheek as well. "What do you want?"

Nightfall let loose a sneer. "Don't tell me you don't know," she snarled back at him.

Maggottail sighed, blood trickling down his chin and forehead.

"Give me the cat who killed my sister," she demanded coldly, "And I'll be on my way."

Before Maggottail could answer, another cat's voice drifted silkily through the dark-dampened air. "Now, now, Nightfall," Tigerclaw soothed. "You couldn't hurt them, even if you tried," he purred, though the glance he gave Maggottail suggested obviously otherwise. "Why don't you run along, back to the Clan, before someone gets really hurt," he growled.

Nightfall lifted her chin, a fresh rush of anger pumping adrenaline through her veins. "Yes, but you've already gotten someone really hurt, haven't you?" She spat, feeling a flash of triumph as his eyes widened. "Yes, yes," she snickered. "I knew you had a part in our sister's death. That first meeting was just a test," she continued with a freezing glare at Maggottail. "To figure us out. I knew you weren't done with us. Then, I assume, you sent someone to kill Mistbreeze to lure me here." Her green eyes sparkled with hatred. "Well, surprise, surprise," she hissed. "_I came_. Now tell me who killed Mistbreeze, and I might spare you."

Maggottail grimaced. "I'm afraid that's confidential," he mewed smoothly. "But-" he was cut off with an abrupt screech as Nightfall launched herself at him, her jaws closing on his tail. She felt the snap of bone and Maggottail howled, trying to pull his tail out of her grip. She bit harder, feeling the bone splinter in her jaws, and jerked her head, putting her whole back and every one of her lean, rippling muscles into it. Maggottail went sailing over her head, and Nightfall felt warm blood splatter her fur in an arc.

She watched him fall through the air, flailing, jaws parted in a soundless wail. He hit the sunningrocks with a thud and smack of hard muscle. He simply lay winded, another splatter of blood decorating the pale gray rocks.

Abruptly, Nightfall realized she was still holding his tail in her jaws when she tasted its blood. Nothing gave her so great a satisfaction as that perfect moment. "Now," she mewed, spitting out the bloodstained tail. "Your appearance can truly match your name."

Maggottail gasped for breath, writhing on the rocks.

Tigerclaw was watching her with curious amber eyes. Nightfall could detect a hint of fear in them, and she reveled in it.

"What are you waiting for?" Nightfall asked, her cold eyes glittering with warning. "Teach me how to kill properly. I'll avenge our sister on my own."

* * *

In exchange for training, Nightfall had become Tigerclaw's strategy adviser. He either taught her or had other cats teach her every trick known to the Clans, and then a page or two out of the rogues' book.

They didn't call themselves rogues, but that's what they were- just a bunch of roughed-up kittypets and street-cats who called themselves BloodClan.

Still, rogues though they were, Nightfall found their leader, Scourge, intriguing. The feeling was mutual. While neither had any intention of becoming mates, they trusted each-other more than they had trusted anyone else. Nightfall, bitter still at Tigerclaw for Mistbreeze's untimely death, plotted with the rogue leader.

The self-proclaimed Tigerstar had trusted Nightfall alone to handle the negotiations. She knew that Scourge was going to hold up his end of the deal- driving out or subduing the rebellious LionClan- and then take over the whole forest for himself. Tigerstar, on the other paw, planned to use Scourge to rid the forest of his enemies, and then defeat Scourge and drive him out.

Nightfall knew that Scourge would win, and so she decided to throw in her lot with him. Not only was she appreciated in BloodClan by its leaders, but the TigerClan cats were more loyal to her than Tigerstar by far.

The cats of LionClan and TigerClan, as they had been dubbed by Firestar and Tigerstar respectively, were gathering to discuss terms of surrender; assuming anyone would surrender, which was not likely, to say the least. BloodClan would be backing up TigerClan and were told to answer not to Tigerstar but Nightfall. The TigerClan cats would likely do that on their own, once Tigerstar was disposed of.

Everything went perfectly according to plan. How could it not, when two of the most brilliant and ferocious minds present were working together to overthrow the forest?

The LionClan cats had arrived, and, as predicted, refused to surrender. The BloodClan cats entered, streaming in and flexing their claws under the claws and fangs they wore over them or in their collars. Nightfall herself had acquired sharpened dogs' claws to fit over her thin, sharp feline claws.

"I have given you your final warning. Surrender now or never." Tigerstar growled.

Firestar lifted his chin. "Never," he spat. Nightfall almost admired him, but mostly didn't. He had chosen the wrong side.

"BloodClan, attack!" Tigerstar roared the order. No-one moved. His eyes furiously searching out Scourge, he hissed. "What is the meaning of this?!" He demanded.

"The meaning, Tigerstar," Scourge began, his icy voice smooth. "Is that my cats answer only to me."

With a wrathful screech, Tigerstar leaped at Scourge. Scourge sidestepped, sending Tigerstar sprawling onto the ground. Scourge braced his muscles to jump at Tigerstar and rip his throat out, but Nightfall shoved him out of the way as they had planned. That was crucial; it made Tigerstar overconfident, having someone, especially his deadly sister, next to him.

Then, Nightfall whirled and whipped her claws into his chest and down. She turned to TigerClan before his body hit the ground, not bothering to watch all of his nine lives slip away at once, an growing pool of blood soaking her paws.

"TigerClan, attack!" She screeched. Her cats let out answering battle-cries, not the least bit fazed. They fought with renewed energy now that they didn't have Tigerstar to fear. That had been key, as well; getting Tigerclaw to intimidate "his" Clanmates, while she would help them when he wasn't looking.

Scourge, at the same time, ordered BloodClan to attack.

The battle was over quickly. Most of LionClan was dead or had fled; those who hadn't were kept as prisoners.

The blood of ThunderClan and WindClan were scattered to the wind. Some fled to become loners or rogues far, far away. Some happened upon SkyClan. The camp was seized; the adults killed or chased out, and the kits raised as TigerClan's own.

TigerClan was victorious, and Nightfall's cats and Scourge's cats both were rewarded.

Neither the Tiger nor the Lion ruled the forest; instead, the darkest Night the Clans had ever known fell over the territories.


	12. Deals with Demons

_Warriors of the Sea Challenge: Paradise: Deals with Demons_

A black tom sat alone, on _a rock at the very edge of a clear pool of water. His clear, fiery amber eyes watched from the shadows the miniscule ripples lapping all around the stone hollow. The tom was solid black at a first glance, but upon a closer inspection he had even darker spots, like the fabled LeopardClan cats of old. The tips of his ears were a flaming ginger, his paws the same; the tip of his tail faded from pitch-black to the same hue of orange. The moon shone up above, huge and _blue_, casting a soft blue sheen on everything the light touched._

_He stirred as, at the edge of the stone clearing, a cat emerged from the mist-shrouded forest, seemingly the exact moment the moon reached its peak in the sky. The new cat was as shrouded as the forest, but smelled of a hint of damp, stale darkness as well as the cool forest fog._

"_Leopardspot," the cat greeted, her icy blue eyes glinting as her sleek silver tabby form separated from the trees, shining amongst the dark gray rocks._

"_Sleetstorm," he greeted curtly. "I presume you know why I'm here?"_

"_You're the first here on the night of a blue moon," she meowed softly. "The lucky _One_," she added._

_The tom narrowed his flaming eyes at the slight sound of mocking in her voice. "So I am. What of the others?"_

_Sleetstorm sighed. "The few who knew of this old tradition and dared to try will never awaken from the slumber that they hoped would bring them here. Their potential, what they can never be, now, but what they would have been, will determine the outcome of your Wish," she explained._

"_I'm well aware of that," he mewed. "But tell me, how great is their potential?"_

_Sleetstorm sat across the pool from him, closing her eyes. She opened them with a saddened shake of his head._

_Leopardspot blinked sorrowfully. "But I cannot refuse, now that I am here?"_

_She shook her head. "You are the _One, _now," she meowed. "You must make a Wish, and hope it turns out for the best."_

_He bit his tongue, thinking. What did he want that the Pool would not twist into a nightmare? _Certainly not a mate, _he thought. _She could easily be a horrible cat. As could the members of any family. I would do well, _he pondered,_ to be alone. Yes, that will do nicely.

_Leopardspot opened his jaws, but hesitated. "I Wish to be alone," he whispered over the Pool, sending ripples outward from her breath._

_Sleetstorm peered into the pool and flattened his ears, eyes widening, at something Leopardspot could not see._

_She blinked up at him. "I'm sorry," he breathed. "I'm so, so sorry."_

_Leopardspot steeled himself, preparing for the Dream he had Wished for which had been turned to a Nightmare. There hadn't been enough potential in his competitors for the wish, and now it would have been better if he had taken one of their places and died in his sleep as they had, waiting for a Wish that would never come._

* * *

A tiny black tomkit blinked open his amber eyes, filled with curiosity.

Cats stood, talking over him, of things he couldn't yet understand.

"His mother didn't survive… or the siblings… father, of course, abandoned him..."

He was bewildered. In his tiny kit mind, he knew he shouldn't be here. He wanted to be away from these cats, away from everyone. Why was he here with them? He wanted to leave. For now he would rest, he decided, letting out a tiny yawn and curling up, not a care in the world.

Suddenly he was awake again, alone, in a mossy nest lined with fluffy, downy feathers. He batted at them, taking tottering steps after the ones that were blown away by his clumsy pounces. Soon, the nest was scattered and the kit was dozing in a heap of feathers he had managed to chase down.

He woke with a start as he heard a shriek, leaping up from the pile of feathers and sending them whirling about the den.

"What are you doing?" A cat scolded, frowning down at him and baring its fangs. "No! Bad kit! Don't mess up the nest like this! It took me ages to find all these feathers!"

The tomkit flattened his little ears, wobbling backwards. He was confused. What did the big cat have to be so mean about? He'd only been playing. He let out a mewl, blinking; his tummy hurt, and he was tired all of a sudden.

The cat sighed, picking him up. The black tom found himself soon again back on the ground, near a warm body. He could smell milk. Searching for the source, he half-crawled to the scent, only to be pushed away.

"I won't have enough milk for my own kits," someone snapped. "Look at him. He's weak. He won't last long anyway- just put him out of his misery."

"It won't be for long," someone else sighed patiently. "Your kits and this one will be weaned soon enough. It's not as if they'll starve- I'll make sure you get plenty to eat. Besides," the cat added in a lower tone, "It's not as if Hakan isn't adopted, too. Why accept him and reject this one?"

There was a mutter, and then the little kit was placed next to the warm milkiness.

* * *

It was a few moons after his birth- six, to be precise. The black tomkit had been named Huracan after his fiery spirit. His adoptive parents, Silva and Donum, gave him what he needed to survive, but nothing more. Their own kits, Meraki and Caeli, were a few moons younger than Huracan, and he was careful around them. Sometimes they showed him compassion, other times disdain, but that was only normal for siblings; they squabbled amongst themselves, but if Huracan joined in he'd be blamed and punished by their parents.

Meraki was kindest to him, but she was shy. Caeli and Hakan were inseparable. Hakan was another stray kit they had found and taken in. He was older than the two sisters, but younger than Huracan. Since Caeli and Hakan spent so much time playing and getting into trouble together, they had little time for Huracan.

Meraki was a naturally skinny cat, no matter how much she ate- which was often, despite what other cats might have thought on a first impression. She was a brown tabby with long fur with a reddish sheen to it, like Donum her father, and she had golden-orange eyes. Her disposition was quiet, but she opened up quickly if she felt comfortable.

Caeli was more like her mother, Silva. She had a soft gray pelt with faded gray stripes and a light underbelly; her eyes seemed to change from blue to gray quite often. She was just as quiet as Meraki, except around Hakan, of course. She wasn't friendly, but wasn't hostile, either.

Hakan's fur was a bit more red than Meraki's, and his stripes were spotted and black instead of a dark red-burgundy. He had green eyes, though; not blue or golden. He was more suspicious than his adoptive sisters, and liked to observe while Caeli or Meraki did the talking.

Huracan decided that he would stay with them until he learned to hunt. That would be on his own, as Pebble and Branch were busy teaching their kits, as well as Hakan by Caeli's insistence.

He didn't know why he stuck around. It would be better to be alone. So, one day, after he had made his first kill and brought it back, only to have it snatched from him when the kits pouted that they wanted to catch prey too, he left, offended.

Huracan bristled. "I actually _caught_ something," he complained. "Can you not just ignore that and give me some credit? I learned to hunt on my own and I'm doing better than they are."

Silva rolled her eyes. "They're _kits_, of course they haven't caught anything. They're younger than you. Step up and be the example."

"How is catching prey being a bad example?" Huracan snapped. "If anything, it's a _great_ example, because you obviously haven't taught them right when all they do is whine and complain and _fail._" He spat. "Have you seen them 'practice'? All they do is goof-off and mess around. _I _actually took the time to practice and then, when I'm successful, you're _mad _at me?"

Silva bared her fangs. "Don't talk to me like that. I'm the one who took you in and fed you as a kit."

Huracan sniffed. "It's not like I chose to be stuck with you," he growled. "I can't _wait _to leave you. In fact," he added, padding over to the raven he'd killed, "I think I _will_, since I can hunt now."

Silva's face contorted. "How dare you leave without repaying us for what we gave you?"

Huracan stopped, exasperated. "Made up your hare-brained mind! Do you _want _me to hunt or not?! No," he snapped. "I'm leaving. And I'm taking my kill with me." He stooped to pick it up, backing away rapidly when Silva darted in front of it and swatted it out of his paws.

"You owe it to us," she snarled. "Without us, you wouldn't even be here. Actually," she bristled even more. "You _shouldn't _even be here! Get out and don't you dare show your fox-hearted face here _again_!"

Huracan let out a snarl. "Give it back! I don't owe you anything! You've never helped me; I've figured my life out on my own. I was your test, for the Stars' sake. You screwed me up and screwed me over, and no matter what you think you'll do the same to your other kits. I've been alone my whole life, but at the same time no one will leave me alone. Give it back and _leave me alone_!" He advanced threateningly, trying to prove a point.

Suddenly, Donum appeared out of nowhere, bristling. He charged straight at Huracan, yowling.

Huracan let out a yelp. Before he could snatch up his raven, Silva took it. Donum slammed into him.

"Don't you _dare_ ever threaten my family or my mate again," Donum spat. "Or I swear I'll rip your throat out."

Huracan's fur bristled with terror. He let out a screech as Donum charged him again, and sped off, fear making his paws light. The forest blurred around him, foliage whipping his legs and chest and face as he sprinted, Donum hot on his paws.

He didn't realize how tired he was until he also realized that his adoptive father had stopped chasing him. He stumbled to a halt, his chest heaving for breath and his whole front half burning from the undergrowth whipping at him. Huracan had no clue where he was; he didn't particularly care, as long as it was far away from his former family. At least he was alone, now.

Maybe that was worse- now he had no-one to watch his back but himself, and if his former family had been any indication of the brutality and dysfunctionality of the cats around here, he'd make sure to stay well away from them.

* * *

Living life alone was easier than Huracan had thought it to be. He avoided every cat as best he could, which wasn't difficult; it seemed as though no-one ever knew to look up, so they never spotted him in the trees where he hid. He was a good hunter and a practiced fighter, as not every confrontation could be avoided.

Just because it was easy did not mean it was relaxing to any degree.

He grew in strength and stature quickly, learning to hunt during the night when more prey was out and it was cooler as opposed to the hot, muggy daytime. He blended better with the night, anyway, and it was easier to avoid cats when you slept in a tree all day. He liked to do things alone, but he began to realize he didn't like being lonely.

Supposing it had something to do with his parents, both biological and adoptive, he tried to keep his mind off them as much as he could, but was plagued with fear that he would someday have a run-in with Donum again. That fear still lent speed to his paws and strength to his blows- fear that he would be hit first, that he would die first.

Finally, he decided that the only way to rid himself of this fear was to face it.

He trained, practicing in real battles against the more bloodthirsty rogues that roamed the forest. He came away scarred more often than not, but he started to get better and better, coming up with his own moves and counters. He started winning the fights he picked. He learned a lot about healing, as well, and so anxious was he to finish what he'd started that he bore the stinging with a calm determination till the pain faded to the back of his mind.

Huracan became well-known in his part of the forest as the young leopard-like tom in whose path you should stay out of. Though he made sure never to fight weak or helpless cats, there were rumors that he'd slaughtered kits for tumbling into his way.

One day, there was talk of a new family entering the area. Huracan overheard some cats talking about it, and his suspicions were confirmed. It was Silva and Donum. It seems their kits had left them a few moons after he had. Good. He didn't really hold anything against his former siblings- just his parents.

Huracan sauntered into the clearing where Silva and Donum had made their dens. It was a small space in the trees, with dapples of sunlight waving over the ground through the leaves. Their den was under a bush, mossy nests already made. The two cats themselves were sharing tongues, curled up in their nest.

"Well, well, well," he meowed coldly. "It's been a while. Silva. Donum."

The pair leapt to their paws. "Huracan," Donum growled. "I told you to stay away from us!"

"So you did," Huracan smoothly replied. "But you, it seems, have come to me. This land is mine, and you are certainly not welcome here." There was a cold challenge in his glinting amber eyes.

Donum laughed. "Right," he retorted sarcastically, but there was a hint of fear in his eyes. Huracan was glad of that- he needed to see the fear in their eyes that he felt when they chased him out. "And let me guess," he drawled. "You're going to make us leave?"

Huracan narrowed his eyes. "No. In fact, you're welcome to stay for the rest of your lives," he growled, flexing his claws. He knew he could take them both, easily. He was nearly as big as Donum and more well-muscled from his fighting and hunting. They knew nothing of fighting, only of manipulation and control by fear.

Donum bristled and opened his jaws to reply. Huracan didn't let him have the chance.

The tom exploded into a burst of speed to rival a shooting star, his orange-tipped tail streaking out behind him. He hit Donum head-on, sending the brown tom sprawling to the ground. Then Huracan was on him, slashing and jabbing and snapping before finally slicing his opponent's throat.

Donum fell over stiffly, blood tricking in a swift stream down his neck and seeping into the grassy forest floor. Silva screeched with horror.

Huracan rounded on her, his face splattered with blood and teeth bared. Without so much as a noise, the tom cleared the clearing in a bound, tackling Silva to the ground. He sank his fangs into her throat as if she were a piece of prey, stopping only when she went limp and her eyes glazed over.

He let out a sigh, partly of relief, partly of regret. Relief that he could finally be alone, without anyone pestering him, but regret that he would never have any family or friends. How could he, when this was the kind of cat he simply was?

Huracan prospered, becoming a respected character wherever he went. Those who dared to cross his path never trod on it for long, for various reasons. He lived alone and was contented with that, but he never wanted to be lonely.


End file.
